Fortunate Sons: The Prolouge
by R. U. Kidding Me
Summary: The Mane Six will not live forever. It only makes sense they should leave their element to their own flesh and blood. But first, you must have a successor, no? As the title says, it is the prologue to a much longer story I have in the making. Rated M just to be safe.
1. Cosmo

Twilight Sparkle gazed on into the endless crowd of nobles, politicians, millionaires, and other VIPs as she and her family entered the ballroom. "Uh, Mother, Father, Cadance, you can go on ahead and see the Princess, there's someone I want Twilight to meet." Her older brother then motioned for her to follow. Their father raised an eyebrow, but Cadance and Mrs. Sparkle were too wrapped up in conversation to notice. "Wait, who are you talking about? Who are we going to meet?" Twilight Sparkle asked as they walked over to a line of stallions in formal military officers' uniforms. "Someone you might remember." He replied. The tone in his voice told her this wasn't someone she had fond memories of.

Sure enough, as they neared the row of officers, Twilight realized one of them looked familiar. "Sea Star? You've GOT to be kidding me." She hissed to Shining Armor. "Look, he's the only stallion outside the family you've ever been able to hold a conversation with, and Mom will be damned if she lets you die a v-" "Okay, I get it!" The two siblings walked up to the officer with the Red Cross and starfish on his flank. "Hey, Sea Star, haven't seen you since that USO show last year. How's things?" Shining Armor asked. "Shins, how ya doin'? Things have been going great. Admiral Mobile's appointed me Navy Chief of Medical Staff. Says in a few years time I might beat out your boy Cotton Rapier in the Army for Surgeon General. Suppose you had fun at that wedding of yours?" Shining Armor snorted. "Very funny. Always were a wise guy. Wasn't too bad after that mess with the changelings got sorted out. Anyways, you remember my sister, Twilight Sparkle?" He motioned to his sister, who curtsied. "A pleasure to see you again, Twilight." He said pleasantly. Twilight, shot him a rather dirty look. She still remembered what happened in the 12th grade.

XXXXX

"Sea Star, don't tell me the rumors aren't true? You aren't going out with HER?" Twilight said. "It's not a rumor, it's true." He snapped. "You bastard!" She yelled. "I'm sorry, were you my fillyfriend at some point? I certainly couldn't tell by the fact that you stood me up time and time again." he quipped. "I have studying to do! This is Princess Celestia's Academy for GIFTED Unicorns after all!" She argued. "Which is why you studied on breaks?" "Well I don't want to forget what I learned!" "The longest break we get is six weeks in the summer! Maybe ponies who get three months off in the public schools have that excuse, but not us!" He said.

"Twilight, we all have potential here, but that potential is meaningless if you don't get out of the house. You treat me like I don't exist when you read. I'm not going to sit in my room moping about being stood up if you don't have time to take your head out of that copy of "War and Peace" to socialize. " He finished, now fuming at the notion of being the "aggressor" in the situation. "Well, fine! If I **NEVER **see your face again, it'll be too soon!" She hissed. "As if you'd notice the difference. Goodbye, Twilight. Forever." And with that, Sea Star closed his book and walked off. Twilight had to fight back tears as the only colt she'd ever known outside her family walked out of her life, seemingly without any regret what so ever.

XXXXX

"Alright, I'll leave you two to get acquainted." And without another word, Shining Armor walked off. Twilight finally stopped scowling and sighed. The two walked over to the balcony overlooking the garden. "So, you're a medic?" She asked. "Basically. What have you been up to? Heard you blew that changeling's cover or something?" He said. "Perhaps your reading every book in existence has paid off after all?" he smirked. She simply looked down in embarrassment. "Listen, I'm sorry for what happened, that day. I could've done more to help you understand." Twilight raised her hoof. "No, you don't have to apologize. I said when I went to Ponyville while researching Nightmare Moon that the fate of Equestria didn't rest in me making friends, even though Celestia insisted that I try to make some. It turns out, the friends I made helped me when I needed them most. I was so caught up in my studying I didn't see the need to interact with others. I shut myself off from the world and there was nothing you could have done."

She sighed again. A small tear rolled down her cheek. "That doesn't matter anymore. That barrier between you and the world is gone now, that's all that matters." He placed a hoof on her shoulder. "I know, but it's just... I just hate myself for missing out on those years." Sea Star furrowed his brow "Don't." He didn't get a reply. "Come on, let's go see the Princess. You are her niece-in-law after all." The two ponies walked back inside and over to where the princess was speaking with the two couples from earlier. "Ah, Twilight Sparkle, I see you have re-acquainted yourself with an old friend. Tell me, how are things going in Ponyville?" Twilight cleared her throat. "Well, at least three residents have been injured by incidents predicted by Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy overcame her fear of dragons and came to watch the dragon migration without braking every bone in Rainbow Dash's body, and Rarity is... expecting."

"Oh, my! If it's not too rude, who is the lucky father?" The Princess asked. "She won't tell us, and-" She leaned in closer to make sure nobody was listening who shouldn't be. "She hasn't been dating anybody as of recently. I'm afraid it might be somebody who she only knows through her business, but she just won't tell us." Twilight had a worried look on her face. "Twilight, don't worry. I know that, with friends like you, she will be okay." She reassured her. "Now, the dance is about to begin, please, go enjoy yourselves." Sure enough, an orchestra sat on the balcony and was getting ready to start. Twilight and Sea Star walked over to the main floor.

The Orchestra began with "Hungarian Trot No. 1". The piece began slowly and peacefully, gradually picking up speed, the couples in the room began spinning faster and faster. Twilight held closely to Sea Star, afraid of toppling over. A brief slow allowed the dancing couples to regain their balance. After a while, the pace slowed, and Twilight was somewhat comfortable again. Then, right near the end, the music picked up speed again, and on the last note, Twilight lost her balance. She gave a yelp as the floor rushed up at her, but it suddenly stopped. Twilight found herself hanging from the Sea Star's fore hooves. She righted herself as quickly as possible, and looked around. Everybody had seen the catch, it seemed.

Sea Star glanced over to Cadance and Shining Armor. The former was giggling and trying in vain to hide it, while the latter had a devious smirk. He than glanced over to Twilight's parents, who had seen everything as well. Her father seemed rather puzzled, while her mother glared daggers at the stallion. Twilight finally righted herself, and turned to Sea Star. "Thank you, I almost fell and hit my head." She said timidly. The couple shuffled over to the side, and stayed there for an hour or so. As the clock struck midnight, they strolled out onto the balcony, admiring the night. "Twilight, I've missed you. I know this sounds cheesy, but, I haven't stopped think about you since that day. I'll prove it. I've kept this since I enlisted in the navy after I graduated."

He produced a pocket watch with a picture of the couple in their teens on it. It was the photo of them at the school prom. Twilight couldn't believe it. She leaped forward and embraced him in a fierce hug. They muzzled each other for a moment, then finally, they kissed. After a few seconds, they settled down. "Sea Star, I've been so selfish. Whenever something reminded me of you, I would push it to the back of my mind. Please forgive me..." She was once again fighting back tears. "I forgive you. Everything is okay now." He said. "Say are you hungry? The food here isn't exactly, uh, filling." He asked. "Oh, that'd be lovely. The Royal Hall is clearing out anyway, so I'd guess we'd better be going." The couple walked down the stairs to the doorway through which they had entered (Albeit with different groups).

They met Shining Armor and Cadance in the royal garden. "So, did you notice anything strange that day when Discord broke out?" Twilight asked Sea Star. "Nothing compared to the tales I've heard from the guys on shore. I was assigned to the 1st Fleet, which was operating of the coast of Mareocco because of that Civil War going on there. We noticed some of the large squid that usually stay well below the surface started getting up to what would be considered periscope depth for submarines. We only needed to drop a few depth charges to scare them off, fortunately." He replied. "Well, I guess you were lucky." Twilight said, rubbing her hoof on the ground, shyly. "Hey, Shining Armor, where are Mom and Dad?" She asked her brother. "They went out to dinner. Me and Cadance are gonna go back to our room. What are you two going to do?" He inquired. "We'll stay out for a little bit longer. See you tomorrow!" She replied. "Okay, see ya."

They walked down the cobblestone path to the Castle Gates, and called a Taxi. The driver told them about a nice place down the street called "le Royal". They arrived, and were shown a table. When the waiter asked them what they would have to drink, Twilight surprised Sea Star by ordering a glass of wine for them both. "Wine? That's not-" She cut him off "We're both old enough, aren't we?" She flashed him a devious grin. "I have a feeling you already had some of the wine from the Gala." He couldn't help remarking. "Who cares? Now that we're away from that Gala thing, let's have fun for a while." From then on, the two could remember nothing.

When Sea Star awoke next morning, he realized the bed he was lying in was not his. He looked around and recognized the room as Twilight's old room, which was connected to the Royal Library. 'Nobody has lived here since Twilight left.' He thought. 'No. She can't be staying here. I just came to Twilight's old room and fell asleep. Last night was just a dream.' Only then did he suddenly realize the mass of warmth huddling against him. He rolled over to see the purple unicorn mare still fast asleep. 'Fuck.' Twilight yawned and opened her eyes. Sea Star suddenly looked down into the black depths under the blanket and realized that he was hurting in a certain place.

"Sea Star, what are you doing here?" She suddenly asked, now wide awake. "I don't remember anything after I tried to stop you from ordering wine." He muttered. "What? I did?" She said, startled. "I think so, my memory is kinda fuzzy up to that point and completely blank afterwards. What time is it, anyway? It's already light outside." He glanced over at the clock after Twilight failed to answer. "10 o' Clock! Damnit! They're probably wondering where we are." Twilight shot straight up. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! This isn't happening-" Sea Star turned and snapped. "Twilight, calm the hell down! Listen, we'll just say I was locked out of my room at the hotel and you offered to let me sleep in your guest bed." This calmed Twilight down somewhat. "Okay, then. Go get dressed, I'll go ruffle the guest bed sheets I guess." She said, and sighed.

After they had prepared themselves for the day, they walked out the door, and hoped none of the guards had seen them enter last night. There were two guards by the door. "Why, thank you for letting me spend the night in the guest quarters. I should be more careful with my hotel room keys from now on." He said. "Oh, it's okay, anything to help an old friend." She replied. Their act seemed to work, not that they would have noticed the difference by the guards' unwavering blank stares. They walked down to the dining hall where breakfast was being served. They spoke very little, never offering more then a sentence once they had explained how Sea Star had "locked himself out". Afterwards, they packed their belongings, and went down to the train station. "I've got to head off to Baltimare to visit my folks, before shipping on back to Naval Headquarters. So, I guess this is the last we'll see of each other for a while, I guess." He quietly remarked. She embraced him in a tight hug, and kissed him. "I love you." She said. And with that, they parted.

XXXXX

It had been a month and a half since that night. Twilight Sparkle glanced into the instrument in her hoof. 'Positive.' It read. "No, no, no. This can't real!" She began to sob. "I'm sorry Twilight, but these thing are rarely wrong. You're a mother." A yellow Pegasus placed her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "I know Fluttershy. It's just, I wish it wasn't. What am I going to tell Mother and Father? Or Sea Star for that matter." Twilight said, flopping down on her bed. "I'm sure you'll be a wonderful mommy!" Pinkie Pie squeaked. "That's easy for you to say, Pinkie Pie, you and Fluttershy are only ones who haven't had to go through this yet. I thought after taking care of Pound and Pumpkin would give you a bit more realistic view towards kids." Twilight fumed. The doorbell rang.

Spike opened the door, and found the other three elemental ponies standing at the door. "Hey guys, they're upstairs." He said. "Thank you Spike." Rarity said. The three ponies walked upstairs to Twilight's room. "So, you wanted to talk to us about what happened with Sea Star?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Yes. I just got tested. It's official." She said. Applejack sat down on the bed next to her. "Now, don't you worry none, sugar cube. You've got all of us to help you through this." The earth pony reassured her. "But how is my family going to react? And what about Sea Star?" Twilight panicked, covering her head with a pillow. There was a knocking on the bedroom door, which was already open. "What about me?"

They glanced over to see the White stallion with the blue and yellow mane standing at the doorway. "How'd you get in here?" Asked Applejack. "Spike let me in. Hey, at least I knocked. Anyways, I got leave, so after visiting the folks, I figured I'd swing by here." He saw Twilight on the bed with the pregnancy test. He walked over to the bed and sat down on the bed by Twilight, right next to Applejack. "So," He said, stroking the Unicorn's mane, "you just found out?" "Yes, Sea Star." She said. "Well, what do you have to say fer' yerself, mister?" Applejack said. "The exact same thing I had planned on saying when I picked THIS up." Using magic, he produced a small box, which opened to reveal a golden ring. "Oh my goodness, Sea Star! Yes!" Twilight jumped onto Sea Star, knocking him onto his back and Applejack off the bed. The other four cheered, while Applejack simply sat on the floor clutching her side. "Yay." She managed, feebly.

XXXXX

It had been only month or so since they had returned from the honeymoon when it happened. Twilight's water had broken, so Spike was quick to summon the others, as well as her family with a quick letter. When they all arrived, Spike led them to the balcony, where a bed had been set up. Sea Star was sitting beside the bed, holding Twilight's hoof. "I need someone to hold her hoof while I do the operation." Twilight's father quickly stepped over and took his daughter's hoof from Sea Star. "I'll also need an assistant, does anybody here have any medical training?" He asked. "I have a midwife's license. Granny helped me earn it." Applejack said. "Good." said Sea Star. Just then, Twilight gave a yelp of pain. Sea Star and Applejack rushed over to the bed.

"Okay, honey, push!" Sea Star instructed Twilight. after repeating the command several times, a tiny head with a horn on it poked it's way out onto the towel on the bed, followed by the rest of the body. Sea Star had Applejack hold the foal up while he cut the umbilical cord. He then took back the child and examined it. "It's a colt!" He said. He wrapped him in a towel and handed him back to his mother. He had a dark blue coat and a yellow mane. "Oh, Sea Star, he looks just like your mane." Twilight noted. "What should we name him?" She asked. "Cosmo." He said, blankly. "Whys that?" Twilight asked. "Because, that's the first thing he saw when he came into this world." He reasoned. "Cosmo. It's wonderful." She replied.


	2. Floyd

Sweetie Belle was excited as could be. She had finally done it. She had won the Ponyville Annual Dance Competition, and earned her cutie mark. Applebloom and Scootaloo were absolutely joyful. They cheered with Rarity and her parents and her friends as they brought Sweetie Belle onto the stage and gave her the medal. The host handed Sweetie Belle the microphone. "I want to thank my Mom and Dad, and my Sister Rarity, and her friends and most of all, my friends Scootaloo and Applebloom!" She said, speaking a mile a minute, over come with excitement.

Later that night, a sudden yelp woke Sweetie Belle. She sat straight up, breathing heavily. "What was that?" She thought aloud. She carefully crawled out of bed and walked to the door. She could hear heavy breathing in the room next door. She recognized it as belonging to her sister. She carefully walked over to the door and poked her head in, expecting Rarity to be sitting on the floor having one of her panic attacks, but saw something much worse. She retracted at the horrifying sight of her sister lying on the bed, while a white unicorn stallion with a black mane who had been at the store a few times recently was standing on top of her. She had only caught a glimpse of what had happened, but she was still horrified. She ran down the stairs and buried her face in the couch cushions.

She woke up an hour later, completely soaked in sweat. "It... it... was just a bad dream. Yeah! That's it!" She walked upstairs. Rarity's room was now silent, but when Sweetie Belle poked her head in, she saw the stallion lying next to her older sister. She immediately ran back to her bed and hid under her pillow. She did not get another wink of sleep for the rest of the night. All she could think of that night was what she had seen. She suddenly heard a voice that presumably belonged to the stallion. "What the fuck? I thought you said you lived alone." "I... I do most of the time. But, when my Mother and Father are away I have a little sister to take care of. But she's been asleep this whole time." The stallion snorted. "She better have. You fuck up my marriage, I fuck up your career." "Yes." She said, fearfully.

After a minute or so, Sweetie Belle heard the front door slam shut. She got up and pushed her door open. As she walked downstairs, she heard a low sobbing. She walked over to front door and saw her sister curled up in the fetal position on the shag carpeting. "Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Sweetie Belle! What are you doing up so early?" She demanded. "Who was that pony?" Sweetie Belle demanded back. "Oh no. You- you saw him?" She stuttered. "Yes. I saw what you doing with him in bed." She admitted. The two sisters walked over to the couch and sat down. Rarity turned on the lamp on the adjacent table. "Do you... know what I was doing with that stallion?" Rarity asked. "Yes. Sex." Sweetie Belle replied, cringing at the last word. "How do you..." Sweetie Belle cut her sister off. "Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash what it was, since she doesn't have any parents." She said. "And then she told me and Applebloom."

"Yes, well I suppose Rainbow Dash saved me a lengthy explanation. Did she say why ponies do that?" Rarity asked. "She said that most ponies do it to have a foal, but some people do it because they are on drugs, or alcohol, other bad things that ponies make very bad decisions when they take. Or sometimes some ponies do it for money, or because another pony will hurt them if they don't."

Rarity sighed. "Yes, well, Sweetie Belle, I don't know how else to say this, but what just happened would be the last of those things. This stallion made me do this, because if I do not, he will ruin me and my business, since he has a lot of power in the fashion industry. I cannot tell ANYBODY else, or else, again, he will use his power to hurt me and my business. Please, do not tell anybody." She said, begging her little sister. "I Pinkie Swear. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Sweetie Belle did the motion from that famous promise.

One afternoon, about four months after the incident, Sweetie Belle was napping in her room after playing with her friends, until she heard the front door open. She walked down to the landing halfway down the stairs, and peeked her head around the corner. It was closed, as it always was on Sundays, so she thought it might be one of Rarity's friends. In fact, it was all five of them. "Oh, girls, what are you doing here?" Rarity asked. "Rarity, it's time you stopped beating 'round the bush." Applejack snapped. "Rarity, you need to tell us who it is. We're your friends, you can't just keep holding out on us!" Twilight added. After a moment's hesitation, Rarity sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll make some tea, then I'll tell you." Sweetie Belle got a peak of her sister as she led her friends to the kitchen. After the tea wash finished, she sat it down on the table.

"You see, four months ago, I met a designer by the name of Velvet Mane who was, how do I say this... assertive? He told me he would only sign a contract with me in exchange for a certain favor." She explained. "What?!" Rainbow Dash spit out. Rarity continued. "Normally, I would send a barbarian like him out the door immediately, but, he is one of the largest clothes makers in Canterlot. And, to be honest, the boutique, is... on the verge of bankruptcy. I don't have a much of a choice, unless I want to lose everything I've worked for." She began to sob, and curled up in her chair. Sweetie Belle could tolerate it no longer. She ran down the stairs, into the kitchen, and grabbed a hold of her sister. "It's okay sister, everything's gonna be okay." She was suddenly surprised as the other five ponies embraced the sisters in a group hug.

A few months later, Sweetie Belle awoke again to Rarity's heavy breathing. This time, however, Rarity was leaning over Sweetie Belle's bed. "Sweetie Belle, I'm going to have the baby! Go get Twilight, quick!" She said, panicking. Sweetie Belle bolted upright and dashed down the stairs and into the streets of Ponyville. She raced from the center of town towards the library. She banged furiously on the door of the building. "TWILIGHT! SPIKE! RARITY'S BABY IS COMING!" After a minute or two, Twilight opened her door and shushed the filly. "Don't wake anybody up." She said, walking out, carrying her saddlebags, and followed Sweetie Belle back to the boutique.

When they arrived, Rarity was lying on the couch, already going into labor. Twilight placed a towel under Rarity, holding up her hind legs. After several agonizing hours, uterine fluid began pouring onto the towel, followed by a foal who looked identical to the mother. Using her medical books from her saddlebag as a reference, she cut the umbilical cord, and held the foal up. "It's male." She said. She heard the sound of someone being violently ill and looked over to the kitchen, where the sound was coming from. Sweetie Belle was bent over the trash can, then she stood back up and wiped her mouth off. "That was ICKY!" She yelled. Twilight struggled to keep a straight face, but managed to pull it off. "But, Sweetie Belle, you're an aunt now." Rarity said softly as Twilight handed her the colt, which she had just wrapped in another towel she had brought.

Sweetie Belle walked over to the couch and stuck her neck out to look at the bundle in her sister's arms. "Sweetie Belle? Would you like to hold him?" Rarity asked her younger sister. "Yes, please." Sweetie Belle replied. She took the bundle in her forelegs and rocked the colt for a few minutes. She gazed down into his eyes, which looked back at hers with a gaze of curiosity. "He looks just like you, Rarity." Sweetie Belle said. "What are you going to name him?" Twilight asked. Rarity looked around the room, scanning for anything that might give her inspiration. Suddenly, she saw it. An album with '_**The Pony at the Gates of Dawn**_' written in psychedelic font on the front was lying on a nearby table. Her father had left the album (by his favorite band) by accident after they dropped off Sweetie Belle. "Floyd. That's his name." She said, staring into space.

A week later, Rarity was sitting at the patio in front of one of the restaurants she where she usually had lunch when Twilight walked up to the table. "Hey, Rarity! Can I join you?" She asked. "Of course, dear." Rarity replied. She then sighed deeply. "What's wrong, Rarity?" Twilight asked. "My life is officially ruined. I've got a foal to support, which isn't easy, I'm sure the Cakes will bare me out on that. Not to mention, Velvet Mane has ended our "contract" but told me that his threat to run me out of business if I let it out that he is the father is still valid. Even if he doesn't the Boutique is done for." She sighed.

Twilight suddenly glanced to a photo on the front page of the newspaper she was carrying. It was of an automobile sitting wrecked in the middle of an urban street, with the chalk outline of a body nearby. She read the accompanying headline aloud to Rarity. "**Dateline- Manehattan Borough, New Colt City. Canterlot Fashion Magnate Velvet Mane killed by car bomb, believed to have been in debt to Coltlumbo crime family.**" Rarity put down her glass. "Such a shame. I suppose I shall have to contact the Canterlot Child Services Department to amend Floyd's birth Certificate." She paid the bill, stood up, and walked away.

_**Certification of Vital Record**_

_**State of Maressouri**_

_**Department of Health**_

_**Bureau of Vital Records**_

_**Certificate of Live Birth**_

_**State File Number: 9999-999999**_

_**Name: Floyd Winston Belle**_

_**Date of Birth: November 2, 2012**_

_**Place of Birth: Ponyville**_

_**Maiden Name of Mother: Rarity Belle Age: 22**_

_**Mother's Place of Birth: Ponyville**_

_**Name of Father: Velvet Mane Age: 45**_

_**Father's Place of Birth: Stallion Island, New Colt City, State of New Colt**_

_**Birth Record Filed: November 4, 2012 Date Issued: 11-09-2012**_


	3. Rainbow Prism

Rainbow Dash landed on the steps of the Cloudsdale City Courthouse and walked up to the Weather Chief's office. She poked her head in the door and glanced at the secretary sitting in the outer office. "Just here to file my report with the chief." The Rainbow-maned Pegasus said. "Just put it in the usual spot, sweetie." She replied. Rainbow Dash placed the report for their shift in the basket labeled "completed shifts" and walked out. "Finally, time to kick back!" She said, and took of for her favorite haunt in Cloudsdale, the 'Flier's Inn'. She landed by the front door and walked into the building.

The weather captain looked around, taking note of the numerous members of teams from other regions. She strolled over to the bar, and ordered bottle of 'Horsewasser'. She kicked back the entire bottle in a matter of seconds. Then she ordered another, and another, and another. "Shit, Dash, you know the bureaucrats in town hall will murder you when they find out their prized weather captain is a fucking alcoholic." Rainbow Dash turned to see Thunderlane sitting next to her. "Listen, bitch, *hic* I'll drink as much as I fuckin' *hic* want, and that asshole at city hall *hic* can go fuck himself if he doesn't like it! *hic* Bartender! Numbero ten-oh, please. *hic*" Fortunately, Thunderlane had only had two drinks, so his judgment wasn't completely compromised.

"Bartender, don't you think she's had enough?" He asked the stallion behind the counter. "For the sake of not losing my fucking license, yes. And her credit card is on the fritz, so pay the bill and get her the fuck outta here!" The middle-aged Pegasus said. Thunderlane did so promptly. "Alright, I'm in a generous mood, so I suppose I'll drag you home." He dragged the Pegasus mare out to the front of the building, and then rolled her onto his back. He struggled to get airborne, as he was not the most muscular stallion in Cloudsdale, though he didn't exactly have much in the way of competition in the Ponyville region, given how few other Pegasus stallions there were.

He eventually did get airborne, but had to stop on numerous clouds on the way back to Ponyville to rest his wings, given the heavy load they were carrying. Finally, he arrived at the steps of the massive cloud mansion of the Weather Captain. Rainbow Dash rolled off of his back without any prompt. "Hey- hey... Listen, follow me, I wanted to show you something." She suddenly said. "Okay..." Thunderlane accepted, overcome with suspicion. He followed the mare up to her room on the top floor of the massive mansion. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Rainbow Dash grabbed him and threw him on the cloud bed, then flopped clumsily onto his stomach. "Ha. *hic* Now, you my bitch, bitch!"

"Rainbow Dash, I have places to be right now." Rainbow Dash cut him off. "I don't give a *hic* fucking shit! *hic* Ha, it's funny, 'cause I'm a girl, and you're a guy, and I'm raping you." Thunderlane would've facehooved, but access to his face was suddenly blocked by a cyan muzzle. He could feel the strong scent of alcohol on her breath, but by then, he had stopped caring as his animalistic instincts kicked in. His memory from then on was a blur, but after what he guessed to several hours he finally woke up, but it was not until a few minutes later that he glanced over and noticed the time to be 5:30. "Shit! Rainbow Dash! Wake up! It's time to go work!" He yelled into the Pegasus' ear. This was, unfortunately, not the first time he had woken up in her room after a night in the Fliers' Inn.

A couple months later, after a about a month Rainbow Dash had disappeared and not been seen by any weather team pegasi, (all the weather chief would tell Thunderlane, the lieutenant of the Ponyville weather team, was that she was on sick leave) Thunderlane received an anonymous letter asking for him to go over to Rainbow Dash's cloud mansion. When he arrived at the house, he found the door to be unlocked, and walked into the foyer, shutting the door behind him. "What the hell is going on?" He asked to no one in particular. "I should be asking the same thing to you, asshole!" He suddenly found himself knocked onto his back, with Rainbow Dash standing over him. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

She pointed to her stomach, which had swollen considerably. "This!" He pushed the mare off of him. "You can afford a fucking mansion but you can't afford birth control?!" He yelled. "Well, uh I didn't realize it until it... got past that part." Her angry glare fell away into a look of embarrassment as she hung her head in shame. "Look if you've really blown your entire fortune on booze, then maybe I can fork up a little bit to get rid-" Thunderlane was suddenly cut off by a third voice. "Hold it just a minute you two!" "FLUTTERSHY?" Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane both stared in awe at the stern look on the yellow pegasus' face. "Yes! Ever since you two were teenagers, you get drunk, fool around, and have a big argument over birth control! I wouldn't normally interfere with a mare's right to choose, but I'm so sick of this drama! Perhaps you two would learn some responsibility if you had a foal." Rainbow Dash simply fainted.

When she woke up, she was in bed, wearing one of her robes. Thunderlane and Fluttershy were standing over her, and had also been joined by Applejack. The pegasus had started to speak, but was cut off by Applejack. "Don't you worry none, sugarcube, we're here. We'll be here to help ya. Now just lie down, while I get you some soup." The earth pony then walked out the bedroom door. "Lemme guess, Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie are around her somewhere." Rainbow Dash said, judging by the fact that Twilight's cloud walking spell needed to be re-cast every three days, and hadn't been used by the others to her knowledge since the young flier's competition. "They dropped by with Applejack, but you were still out, and she was the only one who volunteered to stay and help me take care of you." Fluttershy confirmed.

The next day, Rainbow Dash awoke and found the time to be just past noon. "Crap, have I really slept for that long?" She thought aloud. Suddenly, she heard hoof steps. "You're going to have to stay in bed, and since you are going to have to get used to the idea of sharing a bed, I suppose this may have been a blessing in disguise." Fluttershy and Applejack walked in with Thunderlane, who had a cast around his rear left hoof. Rainbow Dash groaned, but Fluttershy simply looked over to her and scowled. "It will be good for you two to spend some time together." She said, proceeding to give same speech she had just given Thunderlane, who crawled onto the bed and put his head on the pillow.

Rainbow Dash simply curled in a ball with her back to Thunderlane's side of the bed.

A month later, Applejack was bringing soup to the couple, when she took notice of Rainbow Dash's stomach, which had now swollen to the size of a beach ball. She quickly put the trays on their chests and began feeling the bulge. "It's riding low, which means it's a colt. Ya see? I told you going out and gettin' ma midwife's license with Granny Smith and Twilight would be useful." The bulge suddenly shuttered, and the pegasus mare groaned in pain. "Feisty little feller too." Applejack quipped. Rainbow Dash suddenly yelped in pain, and shoved the tray onto the nightstand.

"Fluttershy! Call the others, quick. It's-a-coming!" Applejack yelled downstairs. They quickly heard the downstairs door open and shut, echoing through the massive mansion.

Within a half hour, Fluttershy had returned which the other three. Twilight had brought her medical books with her and immediately began giving instructions to Applejack, while the others gave encouragement to Rainbow Dash. Finally, after several hours the Pegasus foal had arrived. Like Floyd, he was identical to his mother on the outside. "I wanna call him Rainbow Pri-Prsi-Pr..." "Prism?" Twilight interjected. "Yeah. That thing on the music album Rarity's Dad has. That cool triangle thing that when you shine a light on one end, it shines the colors of the rainbow out the other." Twilight frowned. "Isn't that a redundancy, since the entire purpose of a prism is to break down light into the colors of the rainbow?" She asked. "What?" The Pegasus replied. "Never mind."


	4. Wabash Jr

_Note: Twilight was supposed to be right after Applejack, but I wound up writing her chapter first. Applejack's will the be the last one to take place before Twilight's, chronologically speaking. _

Applejack looked over the Orchard, secretly impressed with herself for carrying as much of the work load as she had. This year's harvest had been loaded onto the wagons, and Applejack was to take one of the wagons down to the railroad station to be taken by train to some city on the East Coast, though she couldn't remember where exactly. She quickly hitched up to a wagon, and was soon joined by her older brother, as well as Twilight and Pinkie Pie. When she arrived at the station after leaving Big Mac and the others to haul the rest to the local market, she noticed that the depot building and the land on the other side of the tracks were under construction.

"What on Earth is going on here?" The Earth Pony asked. "This ain't no lil' depot anymore. They're building a big station, like the one we got back in Horseshoe Ferry." She looked over to see a stallion not much older than her in railroader's overalls. "Pardon me, stranger? I don't remember seein' you round here before." He looked back at her with a look of embarrassment. "Oh. Pardon me for not introducin' mah self, ma'am. Name's Wabash. Who do I owe the pleasure to ma'am?" He asked. "Name's Applejack. How'd do, Wabash? Just bringin' in part of this year's harvest from Sweet Apple Acres." His face lit up at the mention of the harvest.

"Oh, right. You shipping these beauties to the East Coast? Baltimare and Ohio at your service, ma'am." He whistled, and two porters came over and began helping Applejack load the apples into barrels. "Pardon the construction ma'am. We're building a big new station and yard here in Ponyville. Just got transferred here from the Mainline from Baltimare to St. Loft. Those are my boys over there. " He pointed over to a three other stallions standing next to a locomotive (Numbered #968), the ten-wheeler sizzling impatiently, steam gently trickling from every pipe. Two wore working overall's like Wabash, the younger looking one ("Billy" Wabash explained.) leaning against the running board on the side of the locomotive and staring into space, while the older one ("Smokey Joe") talked with the third ("Old Man Sampson"), who wore the more formal conductor's uniform.

Finally, after a few minutes, all the barrels had been loaded onto the train, however, goods from other farmers and craftsman in the town, were still being loaded, so Applejack continued to chat with Wabash. "So you from here?" He asked. "Sure as sweet bread!" She replied. "I'm from out in dubya-vee, though my pa's family is originally from Baltimare. I used to work on that part of the mainline till I got transferred to the Maressouri route. Not a bad town you've got here." He explained. "Thanks, sugar cube. Glad you got the chance to see this side of the Maressissippi." She said. Finally, the conductor stopped talking with other two railroaders and walked back to see that the train was fully loaded. "Alright, lad, we've got an hour to get to St. Loft, let's be off. " He called to Wabash, who turned to Applejack. "A pleasure speakin' with ya, Miss."

Several weeks had passed, and as winter came, the crop went quicker than usual. However, some equipment has been broken and needed to be replaced, meaning that Applejack would have to find extra work to keep up with the repair bills. This was a lot simpler than she at first thought, as the expansion of the Depot and the construction of the rail yard meant there were plenty of construction and railroad workers frequenting the diner by the station, so Applejack applied with the manager and was approved in only a day or so. The months passed quietly, and Applejack, who had gradually worked her way to the top of the wait staff, ran it like a well oiled machine. Wabash and his crew stopped in several times, but she never found the time to talk with him. Finally, one Spring evening, Wabash walked up to Applejack as she was locking up early.

"Howdy, AJ? You remember me?" He asked. "Sure sugar cube, I've been meaning to talk to you for some time. How are things on the road?" She asked, starting with some small talk. "The usual railroad activities, climbing over top of box cars, jumping between moving freight cars doing 40 miles an hour, you know?" He chuckled. "Say, there's a little concert going on down at the rodeo hall tomorrow night, and I was wondering if y'all wanted to go there with me." Despite the initial shock, she remembered that her friends (especially a certain librarian) had been reminding her not to over exert herself at work and to relax once in a while. "Sure, darlin'! That'd be wonderful." His face lit up. "Thanks! See ya."

Sure enough, that very next evening, as Applejack was finishing brushing her hair, a knock came on the door. She rushed down the stairs and opened the door. "Howdy, Sugarcube." She said to the orange and white stallion. They walked over to the rodeo hall, chatting along the way. "So how are your folks?" Applejack asked. "Dead." Wabash said coldly. "My Ma died from pneumonia when was little and my Pa was at the throttle of the City of Las Pegasus when it tried to cross some trestle on the Maressouri four or five years ago, and the old bridge gave out." Applejack stopped dead in her tracks. After a minute or so, she started to cry silently. "What wrong, hon?" Wabash asked. "My... my... my Ma and Pa died on that train." She sobbed. He held out a hoof to put on her shoulder. "It's okay, darling. Please, don't cry, I didn't mean to upset you." She suddenly embraced him. "No, don't apologize, it's okay. It's just, sometimes, I get upset when I think about my folks." She said.

They continued their walk to the rodeo hall, and arrived there on time. They danced until about midnight, when Applejack said "Wabash, darlin' can we go home? I'm 'bout ready to hit the hay." He put a hoof on her shoulder. "Sure." He replied. As they strolled down the dirt road back to Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack grew more and more tired until finally she asked: "Can we stop under this tree for a second?" He simply nodded his head. The two ponies sat under the tree and huddled together against the fall winds. "Wabash, darlin', do you love me?" Suddenly asked. "Of course-" He said. Before he could say anymore, Applejack suddenly kissed him.

When he awoke next morning, Wabash was startled to see that he and Applejack were still asleep under that same tree they had stopped under last night. He frantically shook Applejack. "Applejack, Wake up! We fell asleep under the tree!" Applejack woke with a grunt. "Oh." Was all she could say. "Hey, Applejack! I knew I'd find you here!" Pinkie Pie squeaked appearing randomly as she always did. "How would you know where to find me?" She asked suspiciously. "Oh! I was walking by this tree last night and you and uh..." She struggled to figure the stallion's name "Mah name's Wabash." he said. "Right! You and Wallbash were hugging and kissing, and then you started making these funny noises, then you fell asleep, so I left." She explained. "Anyways, Big Mac is looking for you. You should go check on him." She then skipped off to where ever she was headed next.

"So," Applejack said as they walked down the dirt road back to the farm. "Did we really, uh, do 'you what back' there?" Wabash continued looking nervously at the ground, but said "I s'pose so." He then glanced up to see the farm's welcoming sign. "I have to get to work now, and I don't think your brother would want me around if he knew what we did back there, but I promise I'll come see ya after work." He still had that look of nervousness on his face. "Okay, see ya, Wabash." Applejack said, after which they parted ways rather hurriedly. It was obvious neither of them wanted to be seen together until had figured out whether or not Pinkie had let word out to the entire town.

Mercifully, Pinkie Pie's next visit had taken her to the library, where Twilight calmly explained to her the seriousness of Applejack's predicament, and made her Pinkie Promise to not to tell anybody outside their close circle. When she went to the library the next day, all the others from their circle were in the kitchen. "So, you weren't drunk?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Not a sip between us." Applejack replied, with a mixture of indignity and pride. "And he isn't rich?" Rarity asked. "No. He's brakeman. Not much else." Pinkie suddenly blurted. "I'd say he looks almost you, Applejack! Well, except his mane is white, and shorter." Applejack furrowed an eyebrow, examining Pinkie's statement for any signs of an incest joke, before brushing it off as Pinkie's naïveté. "Well, Applejack, let's wait and see how it turns out." Twilight said.

One cold December evening Applejack got her answer when she walked up to Wabash. With a lump in her throat, she gave him the news. "Wabash, I'm pregnant." She said bluntly. He simply stared for a minute and asked "It's mine?" He asked. "Yes. Please, Wabash..." She was trembling on the last word. He didn't even blink, instead he simply put a front leg around her. "Applejack, I don't have the money for a ring, but I promise... I'll marry you." He said, at which point the two earth ponies immediately embraced. "Thank you so much. I... I was so scared." She wept, tears rolling down her face.

"Uhm excuse me son, but we gotta go." Conductor Sampson said apprehensively. No acknowledgement was forthcoming, so he glanced over to the impatiently sizzling ten-wheeler. Without so much as being asked, Smokey Joe gave a yank of the whistle cord. _**"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" **_ The mare yelped and almost jumped over to the other side of the round house. "Oh! pardon me Mr. Sampson." Wabash said, shaking himself from his state of shock. "Okay, darlin' I'll see ya real soon." Applejack gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"So, you've finally found Mr. Right?" Rainbow Dash asked skeptically. "Ah'm sure of it. Ah mean..." Applejack seemed at lost for words. "Oh, simply beautiful, darling! Please tell more!" Rarity exclaimed. "Sorry, but that will have to wait until later. Applejack, Fluttershy and I have been going over your diet for while you're pregnant. We need to discuss this in detail." Twilight said, grabbing the earth pony's hoof and dragging her into the kitchen. Twilight and Fluttershy spent close to half an hour rambling on about nutrition, rest, and working sparingly, if at all. This last part left Applejack grumbling quite a bit, but there wasn't much choice in the matter. They _were _ the experts after all, and her friends, so she knew she could trust them.

XXXXX

#968's headlight pierced the thick mass of rain that covered the route through the rolling plains. Wabash hopped across the first box car and landed on the tender. "How do you do it?" Smokey Joe asked. "When I was a brakeman, I had to cling to the top of the frame whenever we went 'round a corner." Wabash smirked. "Well-" "DEAR LADY! THE BRIDGE IS OUT! BRAKE!" Billy suddenly snapped. Without even glancing out the cab window, Joe heaved the brake lever forward and yanked the reverser back. The Ten-wheeler lurched violently, it's wheels screeching as they scraped for traction on the rails. After what seemed like an eternity, the train stopped a few inches short of the wrecked trestle. #968's headlamp shown through the darkness below to reveal the smashed woodwork and twisted steel rails.

"Damnit to hell! Son, take the emergency lantern and lay torpedoes all the way back to the signal box, then tell 'em the bridge is out." Smokey Joe ordered. "Right, Joe. See y'all back in P Town." With that Wabash leaped out of the cab and onto the rain-slicked grass next to the railroad track bed. He raced back to caboose and grabbed several of the blasting caps designed to warn engine crews to stop immediately. "Remember, if you can see the City of Las Pegasus' headlamps in this weather, it's too late to stop 'em, so just get the hell away from this caboose!" Wabash quickly warned Conductor Sampson, before jumping out the rear door of the caboose. He went down the track laying torpedoes every hundred yards or so but only managed to lay three down before he heard and saw the inevitable.

The City of Las Pegasus' headlamp shown in the distance. He began frantically waving the red lantern about, and heard the engine's brakes come on with a screech. The engineer of the 'Las Pegasus' had seen the lantern and applied the twelve-wheeler's brakes and reversed steam just as quickly as Smokey Joe had on the freight train now sitting helplessly at the river's edge. Wabash dove away from the oncoming train, but misjudged how close it was. The locomotive's front right cylinder smashed into the earth pony's lower right body, tossing him aside like a rag doll. He lay at the side of railroad in agony clutching his mangled rear right leg, until he finally passed on.

Back in the, Sampson was relieved to see that the 'City of Las Pegasus' had stopped just before hitting the closest torpedo to the freight train. He quickly climbed aboard the engine at the head of the express train and explained the washout to the crew. They agreed to give him a ride back to town so he could look for Wabash along the way, and then they'd return to their train to let the engine crew know it was okay to reverse back to town. When they passed by the spot where the engineer had seen Wabash. To his horror, Sampson saw the body of the young brakeman lying in the adjacent field. They immediately stopped to take the young colt's body on the long trip back.

Back at Ponyville Station, Applejack arrived too late to put a letter to Braeburn in Appleloosa in the mail sack to be collected by 'Las Pegasus' as it passed, but was immediately surprised by the sight of the train reversing into the station. When the engine ground to a halt, she walked up to the cab and glanced in to a sight that made her curse her curiosity. The body of her fiancée lay on a white sheet, the lower half stained maroon with blood. Sampson looked over at the horrified mare. "Miss Applejack... I don't know what to say. I'm sorry you had to see him like this. If nothing else, the folks on this train owe their lives to this boy."

She simply couldn't take anymore. She ran as fast as she could to the farm, slammed the door to her room shut, and screamed into her pillow. After a few minutes, she finally managed to calm herself enough to sleep. She awoke the next morning to the sound of her bedroom door opening. It was none other than Twilight. The earth pony rolled over in her bed to look at her. "I heard about Wabash. It's okay, Applejack you have all of us here to support you." She said softly. "Thanks, Twi. It really means a lot-" She suddenly clutched her lower torso and began crying in pain.

"Not again." Twilight muttered. She quickly sprung into action, and the foal had soon arrived. He was exactly like his father, though with his mother's blonde tail and mane. Applejack held the colt in her front legs, rocking him gently. "I can't honestly not name him after anything other than his father. Wabash Jr." She said softly. "Sounds wonderful." Twilight replied. The foal suddenly sneezed, startling the two mares. "Goodness! You need a tissue hon?" Applejack giggled.


	5. Cherry Bomb

The Brown earth pony walked down the dirt road leading into the tiny town. A sign read: "Ponyville: The happiest place on Earth! Population: 1,044" He had no time to examine the sign however, as the snow was pouring down mighty heavily. By the time he reached the center of town, the roads had turned to mud and snow, forcing him to wipe his hooves on the doormat in front of the towering white building where he would start his life anew. Gone were the days of back-braking work on his Uncle's farm in the Amish earth pony country west of Fillydelphia, now, from here on in, it would be piece and quiet.

"Hello! What's your name?! My name's Pinkie Pie! You wanna buy a cupcake?! We just made some! Last batch of the day!" He was suddenly bombarded with questions and exclamations by a mare who was pink all over, and was speaking a mile-a-minute. Even that phrase would not bring justice to just how fast she talked; a mile a second would probably have been more accurate. Finally, she stopped asking questions long enough to let him answer. "My name's Chocolate Milk. I'm here to discuss something about a job with Mr. Cake." The mare's drivel resumed all too quickly. "Ooh! Chocolate Milk! That's my favorite drink! Oh! Mr. Cake will be down in a minute!"

The pink mare skipped off to a back room, leaving Chocolate Milk to sit on a chair in the waiting area until his soon-to-be boss arrived. "Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner! Chocolate Milk, right?" The owner of the bakery asked. "Yes, Mr. Cake. Nice to meet you in person." Chocolate Milk replied. Mr. Cake then proceeded to give him a tour of the building, the first floor that served as the bakery, the second floor, used solely for storage space, the third floor, which the Cakes used as their home, and the fourth, top floor, consisting of the turret room he would now share with the family's other apprentice, Pinkie Pie.

He put his things down in the bedroom he was to share with the coquette earth pony and returned to the kitchen on the first floor and joined Pinkie Pie in filling the last minute orders for Holiday sweets. (And *shutter* fruitcake!) They had their hooves full for the entire day as a result, not to mention that Twilight Sparkle, a friend of Pinkie's (Not to mention the town librarian and _**Princess Celestia's**_ protégé) was getting married to her childhood sweetheart (who by then was a high-ranking officer in the Navy) on Hearth's Warming Day (known to ponies who followed Christianity, rather than Equine Polytheism, as Christmas).

By Midnight all the last minute orders for Christmas/Hearth's Warming parties had been filled, and the smaller items for the wedding had been baked. Pinkie, Chocolate Milk, and the Cakes retired for the night, not trusting themselves to start on the wedding cake at such a late hour. Chocolate Milk and Pinkie Pie climbed the stairs to the turret bedroom (he had not noticed on the initial tour that there was a small bathroom in the corner). After the two brushed their teeth and Chocolate milk organized his things in a corner, he glanced over to see they would be sleeping in **a **bed, and looked over to the pink mare in shock. The mare seemed to read his thoughts. "Oh it's okay! I grew up in the Amish Country, I'm used to sharing a bed with other ponies my age!" Pinkie squeaked. "Oh, me too." He said.

He turned off the lights, and got into bed. He crawled under the covers and turned towards the middle of the bed so he could sleep without the moonlight in his eyes. He suddenly felt a foreleg around his torso. He opened his eyes and found himself face to face with Pinkie Pie. Her mane had drooped down from the puffy form it had been earlier that evening when first met her. Not to mention the color of her coat and mane had become duller. What seemed to differ most from the mare's appearance earlier that night, was, her eyes looked almost dead and were choked with tears.

"What's wrong?" He asked her. "It's, it's just that I don't like to be reminded of my home. It was horrible. I earned my cutie mark by throwing parties for ponies who were sick or needed cheering up, but my family never appreciated my special talent. They always told me to stop being foolish, my sisters told me I that my cutie mark actually meant that-" she began to sob "that-that I was just going be some whore who would just go around getting drunk at parties and sleeping with stallions whose name I'll never know because they'll be gone when I wake up." She began bawling outright.

He immediately put his hooves around her and squeezed the poor filly tightly. "I'll still be here tomorrow. This is my new life, my new beginning. I wouldn't give this up for the world." He said. He could still remember how his family reacted to his cutie mark (a cocoa leaf). His Uncle and Aunt had worked the wheat farm for decades, and were not about to have their nephew become a "chocolateer" like that silly colt Mareton Hershey from the next town over. After a shouting match with his uncle, he'd collected his things and snuck out during the night.

The days went past quickly and Hearth's Warming Day soon fell upon the town. Chocolate Milk met all of Pinkie Pie's friends, including the bride and groom. There was the local seamstress, Rarity, who spoke with a British Accent. As it were, her father was born in Great Britail, and came to the Equestrian Capitol to work in the British embassy, eventually settling in Ponyville after retirement. She had been the first of Pinkie Pie's friends to have a foal (allegedly with a textile magnate from New Colt City), though the notion that three of her friends had given birth in two months and a fourth was due next month raised pretty disturbing questions.

Rainbow Dash was the second mother of the group, if she could be called one. After plopping down "Ray" in the nursery area of the church, she wondered over to the reception area and began gulping down the "punch". According to Pinkie Pie, the foal's father (who she refused to marry despite single motherhood being certain death for her career) was simply the longest lasting of her numerous sexual partners. If there was any member of the six elemental ponies that had saved Euqestria time and time again who embraced the fame that came with it, it was her. (Though she was already a celebrity in her own right being the Weather Captain of the region which just so happened to include Canterlot as well as Ponyville, and the holder of numerous pegasi speed records, including being the first Pegasus to break the sound barrier.)

Applejack, the most recent mother of the group, was the eldest daughter of a farming family with relatives spread out all over the country. Her fiancée, a young railroader, had been killed on the road the very night he had proposed to her, and she had refused any suitors since. She was absolutely was absolutely obsessed with her son, never letting him out of her sight. While the others used alcohol and dating (or rather, in Rainbow Dash's case, taking home any groupie who kissed her ass enough) to cope with their precarious position brought on by their motherhood, Applejack seemed to use the little colt as a distraction from the farm's financial woes.

Then, there was the bride. Twilight Sparkle. The daughter of a wealthy noble family from Canterlot, she was the Princess' prized student and the de facto leader of the elemental ponies. She and her now husband, Sea Star, had been foalhood sweethearts before a nasty breakup in secondary school. But to look at them now, it appeared as if they had never separated. In stark contrast to the others, she looked set up to have a story book ending.

During the reception, the others got out on the dance floor and began having grooving to the music put on by the town's very own DJ, Vinyl Scratch. Unlike her sister-in-law, Twilight had not forgotten to throw the bouquet while the wedding was still going on, and tossed it across the room in the direction of the refreshments. It just so happened that Pinkie Pie and Chocolate Milk were getting themselves some cupcakes between dancing. Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to enjoy one of the fruits of her labor, but did not taste a cupcake, but rather, a bouquet, which she promptly spit out. "That's not a cupcake!" She squeaked angrily.

At the end of the night, Pinkie Pie and Chocolate milk retired to the turret apartment and prepared for bed. Pinkie picked up some pellets to feed her pet alligator gummy, but when she walked over to the tank, she dropped the bottle and screamed like a banshee. "Pinkie! What's wrong?" He asked, frightened. "GUMMY! NO!" She wailed. The little reptile had passed away. Seems a shelf had collapsed, and spilled its contents onto the poor alligator's tank. After cleaning the mess up and putting Gummy in a box to be buried with full honors at a later time, they retired to the bed. "I'm sorry about Gummy, Pinkie. I know what it's like to lose a pet. I had a cat named Skeeter back on the farm, and I almost went berserk when I found out he'd been run down by a carriage. I never felt the same after he died."

Chocolate Milk put his hoof around Pinkie's shoulder without him realizing. She snuggled up against the stallion and asked "Chocolate Milk? Do you wanna know something?" "Yes?" He replied. "I'm really, really happy you came here. It's really nice to have somepony to talk to at night. I used to be super-duper lonely." She said. "Do you want to be my special somepony?" She asked. "Of course." He now fully embraced the earth pony, then, suddenly she kissed him right on the mouth. "Chocolate Milk?" Pinkie asked after a while. "Yes?" "Can we have a foal? Like Mr. and Ms. Cake?" He thought for a moment. "Sure... If that's what you want." He suddenly felt Pinkie force her hind legs in-between his and pushed her chest up against his before she kissed him once again.

The next month, Chocolate Milk returned to the shop from the market. He carefully tip-hooved his way up the stairs before quietly opening the turret bedroom door. He walked over to Pinkie, who was looking over some old recipe book and tapped her on the shoulder. "Pinkie Pie?" He asked. "Yeah?!" She had picked up the excited tone in Chocolate Milk's voice. 'Will you marry me?" He asked, presenting a simple golden ring. "YES! YES! YES! YES!" She screamed, and literally lifted the white and brown earth pony off the floor.

Several months passed after the wedding before the day arrived. The minute Pinkie went into labor, Chocolate Milk rushed her to the hospital. Her friends soon arrived as well, along with the Cakes. Chocolate Milk held Pinkie's hoof and softly coerced her until the colt finally arrived. He was completely unlike his mother, with a cherry red coat, but he did have his father's white mane. "Jeez, it felt like a bomb went off in my tummy!" Pinkie Pie said, which was received with mild laughter from her friends and family. Suddenly, she gasped. "OH! I know what to name him! Cherry Bomb!" She cheered. This was met with even greater laughter than before.


	6. Evergreen and Epilogue

Fluttershy looked upon the field with sorrow. She simply couldn't believe how grown up her friends had become. Not too long ago, they were simply young mares in their late teens and early twenties, now, here they were, full grown mares with foals to take care of. While some of them (Namely Rarity and Rainbow Dash) were struggling with the burden financially, they all seemed to be so much happier than her. Sure, she had her animals, but still, she felt like there was something missing from her life.

A family. Of course. But there was no way in Tarsus, it seemed, she would ever have the chance to start. In a town where the vast majority of the population was female, she was never going to find a husband. She thought for as long as she could, looking at her friends as they fussed over their children, who were play-wrestling in the grass next to the picnic blanket. Sea Star and Chocolate Milk were leaning against a fence post enjoying a drink and chatting about the sort of topics that would not interest the other sex. Fluttershy screwed her face even harder as she tried to think, but she still could not think of anything by the time the picnic had ended.

She thought about it harder still as she walked back home. The ground below her hooves was soft and mushy from the spring rains, which had started in February , forcing her to rub wipe them on the doormat. She then suddenly noticed a pamphlet from one of the charities she occasionally did volunteer work for. She looked in particular at the word **donate**. It hit her like a ton of bricks. "DONATE!" Angel looked up from his bowl with a look of confusion, though, as was her nature, Fluttershy took this as being frightened to death. "Sorry, donate."

A week later, she returned from the medical school of the University of Las Pegasus and met the others at the train station. "It's official. I'm a mother." Was all she could say. "No duh! It's freakin' ULP we're talkin' about!" Rainbow Dash said. "Rainbow Dash!" The rest of the group snapped. "Anyways," said Twilight "welcome home, Fluttershy." Pinkie Pie spoke up next. "Yeah, I got a WELCOME BACK party ready! I wanted it to be a surprise, but then I remembered 'Oh yeah Fluttershy kinda gets scared easily'." She continued rambling on for the rest day, even after the party ended. A few months later, the foal arrived. Fluttershy looked upon the tiny pegasus, who was completely green. Not surprisingly, she had decided to call him 'Evergreen", thus insuring that Rainbow Dash would remain the worst name-giver, not that this was her greatest short coming in parenting.

And so, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony had established their lineage. But would their heirs live up to expectations? Was the power of the elements truly intended to be inherited through the blood? How would they cope with the spotlight of inheriting the most powerful forces in the equine world? And what evil awaited them, lurking in the darkness?

XXXXX

Sorry for making this last chapter so short, but writing the same formula over and over gets pretty repetitive. In hindsight, I should have just started on the main story. However, before I _do_ start the main story, I do have an interesting one-shot related to IRL history coming out. Until then, _Dea-lá._


End file.
